Definition of "flotation" []

• The act, process, or condition of floating. Also called flotage. (noun)
• The act or an instance of launching or initiating, especially the floating of stocks or bonds or the financing of a business venture by floating stocks or bonds. (noun)
• The process of separating different materials, especially minerals, by agitating a pulverized mixture of the materials with water, oil, and chemicals. Differential wetting of the suspended particles causes unwetted particles to be carried by air bubbles to the surface for collection. (noun)
• The capability, especially of a vehicle tread or tire, to remain on top of a soft surface, such as sand, wet ground, or snow. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The fact that it had a built in flotation device made that jacket my best friend."
• "RBS indicated that while a trade sale would be considered, a stock market flotation is the most likely option by 2012."
• "Schoener A, Schoener TW (1984) Experiments on dispersal: Short-term flotation of insular anoles, with a review of similar abilities in other terrestrial animals."